“Seize her!” she interrupted me again, motioning to the enforcers.
Before I could react, she lunged at me and with a swift swipe, tore at my ceremonial cloak, ripping it from my shoulders. The crowd gasped as I stumbled back, my breath catching in my throat.
I stared at my torn ceremonial robe, everything felt like a dream. Was this even real? Was this some sort of prank – you know the kind where my friends would suddenly jump out from where they were hiding and congratulate me on my passing out?
But it wasn’t. Ember’s face loomed over mine, filled with revenge.
“Ember, Stop!” I cried out, but she was beyond reason now. Her face was twisted with rage and from her pocket, she pulled out a vial. My eyes widened in horror – I recognized the dark, oily liquid inside. It was Wolfsbane.
“No, no, no!” I struggled harder “Please listen to me, this is all a misunderstanding. You’ve got everything wrong,” I pleaded struggling against the enforcers who held me firmly.
Ember advanced towards me, a satisfied smug look on her face, holding the vial threateningly.
“You wanted to play games, little bitch?” she hissed. “Let’s see how you like this!”
I managed to kick her hand that had the Wolfsbane vial and it fell on the ground, breaking into tiny pieces.
I knew this was the first time we were meeting, so it was understandable if she thought I was a mistress.
“Please!” I told her trying to speak calmly. “Can you just calm down for a few seconds? I promise you; you won’t regret speaking to me and I can assure you, that this is all a mistake. I am not who you think I am. So, I just need you to take a deep breath and hear me out for a minute".
“Hear you out?” she scoffed “What do you want to say now? What lies do you want to concoct?”
“Please you don’t understand,” I pleaded again. “I’m not trying to steal your title or your man – I can’t even do that. I am Alpha Rudolf Cohen’s daughter. My name is Jessica. I’m sure my dad must have talked about me or something".
She paused for a minute running her eyes up and down my form but a second later, she scoffed, her eyes flashing with a mix of disbelief and fury. “You liar!” she snarled reaching out to grab my hair. “You think I’m foolish enough to fall for such petty deception? Who do you take me for?”